Original Painting of Mountain Spirit Dancer in Right Profile [SOLD]

“Ignatius Palmer, a Mescalero Apache, was born about 1921.  He was painting as early as 1939. . . but seems to have done most of his exhibiting between 1957 and 1962.  At the Scottsdale show in the latter year he received a second award for . . . a painting executed in tempera.”  Tanner 1973

“The two most impressive Apache artists to attend The Studio (Santa Fe Indian School) were Ignatius Palmer and Allan Houser.  Palmer possessed a distinctive sense of line and produced angular figures in a background of serenity.  The figures in his paintings seem caught in the midst of an action, still alive and warm.” Highwater 1976

Ignatius Palmer’s rendition of this Apache Mountain Spirit dancer is indeed “alive and warm” as he performs one of the healing rites for which the spirits are responsible.  Mountain Spirits are representatives of the Mountain People who appear in masked form among the Apache people. The artist painted this dancer with a black hood detailed with small brushstrokes of white delineating the eyes and mouth. Attached to the hood is an elaborate wooden headpiece, sometimes referred to as the horns, that was executed with narrow yellow and green details. The body is black with white geometric elements. The masked figure’s yellow buckskin skirt is adorned with fringe and jingles. The angle of the body suggests movement as the figure is shown lifting one moccasined foot while carrying a wand in each hand. Done in the tradition of The Studio, there is no background. The focus is pointedly on the Mountain Spirit Dancer. Palmer signed and dated the painting in the lower right hand corner.

Condition: the Original Painting of Mountain Spirit Dancer in Right Profile is in like-new condition.

Provenance: From a large New York Collection

References:

- Song from the Earth: American Indian Painting by Jamake Highwater

- Southwest Indian Painting, A Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner